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Vali Barbulescu Tries the New Fuji X100S

When Vali Barbulescu was approached by Fuji and asked to try out their new X100S camera he decided to do something different than expected.

Bucharest-based Vali Barbulescu was the first Eastern European photographer to lay his hands on the new Fuji X100S camera. Vali, who wanted to seize the opportunity to do something out of the ordinary, decided to bring the camera and a model to his studio and shoot with Profoto lights.

“This camera is normally used for street photography and documentary-styled images due to its fixed 35mm lens, but I organized everything like I do when using medium format or DSLR cameras,” says Vali. “The setup included Profoto lights, as I find them to be a very important factor for delivering professional results. I triggered the flashes with a PocketWizard Plus II and I could sync up to 1/500s at f/2 with no problems. The fast aperture was intended to emulate the looks and feel of a full frame system. I wanted the images to look as professional as possible and not just like some random snaps with a retro-looking camera. But I have to say, the Fujinon lens is a very good piece of glass. Pairing it with the X-Trans II sensor and the Profoto lights gave me the freedom to work unconstrained.”

Vali used three different setups during the shoot: one setup with a single light source, one setup with two light sources, and, finally, a setup with three light sources.

“The main attraction of the day was for sure the huge Giant Reflector 300,” says Vali. “You just can’t go wrong with that. I used it with a Profoto ComPact 1200, which allowed me to achieve a professional look with ease. Also, moving the light source closer and changing the position of the head in the lamp holder gave me a variety of different looks without having to change the light source or modifier.

“For the more beauty-like images I used the Profoto Softlight Reflector White, which by far is my favorite Light Shaping Tool. I often use with the key light for my fashion and beauty shots, and the results are always outstanding.

“After shooting with those big and soft light sources for a while, we changed to shooting with just a single ComPact equipped with a Zoom Reflector. As a result, we got a bit more mysterious and edgy images. Also, the great dynamic range of the camera allowed me to retouch these final images in way that gave me the contrasty images I was looking for.

When you are done watching the video and final images below, head over to Vali’s website to check out the rest of his work.